Albany
is the capital of New York State. It became New York's capital in 1797,
following in the footsteps of New York's first capital, Kingston. The city of
Albany still serves under it's original charter which dates back to July 22,
1686. New York State was the 11th state and was admitted to statehood on July
26, 1788. The population of the city of Albany is approximately 100,000 while
Capital District residents number about 800,000. The City of Albany is located
on the Hudson River. Albany is 138 miles north of New York City, 144 miles west
of Boston, Massachusetts, 108 miles east of Syracuse and 196 miles south of
Montreal, Canada. The best alternatives for travel to and from Albany, are
Albany International Airport, the New York State Thruway, Amtrak or one of
several bus companies.

Empire
State Plaza is one of the most spectacular capital center complexes in the United States, the Empire State Plaza houses New York State's government operations on 98 acres of land with 10
buildings. "The Egg" with it's curvilinear shape is especially noteworthy.New York State Canal System - The New York State Canal System, comprising the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and
Cayuga Seneca Canals, is one of the United States most valuable historical resources dating to 1825 when the Erie Canal opened. Famous Albanians:
Bret Harte, Andy Rooney, William Kennedy and Martin Van Buren (born in Kinderhook, NY)

Russian-speaking
Albany: A Russian club was founded in Albany, NY in the beginning of 2003 by
a small group of enthusiasts of Russian culture. This club has come to be known
as &guot;The Russian-American Cultural Exchange Association - Sputnik, Inc.&guot;
This nonprofit, nonpolitical Corporation was formed for educational, literary,
and charitable purposes. The main purpose of Sputnik is to enrich, educate, and
entertain our community by providing services, quality cultural events and
Russian culture education. Sputnik often invites Russian writers, poets, and
performing artists, organizes exhibitions of Russian artists, organizes cultural
events and educational activities for Russian-American community involving
languages, music, literature and art. In addition, Sputnik has established a
program to help isolated, elderly and sick people in the Capital District.
Informing leaders, decision makers and the general public in NY State about
Sputnik's activities is also on the agenda. Sputnik discourages participation in
and activities of all hate groups, as well as discrimination based on race, gender, religion, age, handicap, occupation and
national and ethnic origin.

For more information on Albany, New York points of interest, take a look
here or here. To learn more about the local
Russian-speaking community, please come back to visit us often, here in Russian
Albany at http://albany.baraban.com